


Pawprints?

by Seeje



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Adena Hawke, Brandt - Freeform, Gen, Loyalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2014-05-26
Packaged: 2018-01-26 16:06:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1694282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seeje/pseuds/Seeje
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My explanation for how the Mabari in DAII stealths in apparently from nowhere whenever Hawke summons them.</p>
<p>For use in this example is Adena Hawke (Mage) because her story is sad and everyone dies so she needs a good loyal pup by her side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pawprints?

The loyalty of a Mabari is not easily shaken. He wonders if Mistress remembers this. In this strange city that smells of the downtrodden and the sick, that reeks of the brackish water from the bay, where the wind is always faintly smelling of fish and old, old blood soaked deep into the stone, does she recall the Wilds and the Woods of her youth?

Her father would take her there, she but a child, he but a pup. A Mabari does not Imprint that young but her Father had gone to great lengths to obtain him and already he was in love with the girl who would be his Mistress. At the time he could never have imagined he could feel any stronger for her than absolute love and adoration, but when she earned his respect and Imprinting soon followed, he had realized how small the feelings of ‘love’ and ‘adoration’ actually were.

She does not feel the same for him as he feels for her. He knows this. She consumes his existence; She is also his leader, and therefore cannot be consumed with him in turn. It does not change his loyalty.

But even before the Imprinting, she would have never thought of going anywhere without him. Perhaps it is the City, this Kirkwall. In Lothering all stared at the girl coming into her twenties with a fierce, fit, and loyal Mabari at her side and knew to respect her. In Kirkwall, many look down their short, weak noses at him, and in turn at her because of him. They do not know - they cannot possibly understand. Perhaps that is why she often goes out on the streets without him at her side.

It is foolish, because of course he is going wherever she goes.

She stands before the bookshelves and pulls books out, flipping through them lightly before putting them back. She is going to see Fenris - she often does this just before leaving to see him. Finally she selects a book and moves towards the door. He raises his head and wags his tail in a manner that shakes his whole rump. She cannot fail to see the hopeful question in his eyes.

"I’m just going a few streets over." She chuckles at him. "It will be dreadfully boring. Stay here by the fire, I’ll see if I can find a Crunch on the way back." She pets his head and as her hand leaves he drops it to the ground, a mopey expression coloring his whole body. She shakes her head. "Melodramatic." She says as she heads for the door, a small smile on her face.

When the door latches shut he jumps to his feet and rushes up the stairs. He startles Leandra coming out of her room. She is a kind woman but she is not always understanding him. She does not shout like Bodahn sometimes does when he shocks the man by jumping on some table or something, but clearly the dog rampaging up the stairs sets Leandra’s heart a flutter - she drops the bolts of cloth she is carrying.

He shoulders open Mistress’ bedroom door. His paws hit the bed with force, then up on the wardrobe top he leaps. It takes little effort to shoulder open the window from here, and he rolls out and drops 10 feet to a small balcony overlooking the Amell estate garden. Sandal is rooting around in the garden - he does not look up to see the hound, and the Mabari leaps over the railing to land atop the wall of the Amell estate, and then drop into the alley behind.

It had taken him three weeks after returning from the Deep Road to discover the best ways to escape the mansion when he was left behind. It had been almost impossible to escape Gamlen’s house. Only when Mistress did not take Carver with her was he able to do so, as Carver was always willing to let him out when he scratched at the door - there were no escape routes in the stinky slum house. The Amell estate had 5 secret ways out - for a determined, agile, strong, fit Mabari, anyways. This was the one he used most commonly.

Down in the alley, he snarled at some rats. Though strong in groups, few would face him unless their numbers were very very great. He padded along the alley, finding a conveniently placed wagon, and reached the roof of a nearby one-story house.

The roofs were his preferred method of getting around Kirkwall. They were also the preferred method for thieves and killers, most of whom ignored him. Sometimes he would follow Mistress and a cadre of cutthroats would be situated on the roof for an ambush. Territorial in a way he could respect, they disliked Mistress interfering in their matters. Several would meet her in the street. several more would be waiting to drop down from the roof and feed more bodies to the ambush. Mistress walked with a pack of strong and loyal people - the ambushes never worked out. It always helped that there were a few who died on the roof, never to drop to the ground with a well-aimed bolt targetting Mistress’ heart. He was always careful to clean the blood off of him before he returned home, or Leandra would have a fit.

Today he went from the low roof and up an incline to a second story rooftop. From there it was easy to jump the alleyways and streets. He was at Fenris’ mansion shortly.

He looked down at the street from above. Fenris kept the mansion so shoddily - it still reeked of the dead Fenris’ former master had used to summon the demons they initially encountered inside - though Fenris and Mistress did not seem to notice. It was one of his favorite places in the world.

Mistress should arrive in a few moments. She would be safe inside with Fenris - he was fierce in battle and worthy of respect. So he waited.

And he waited.

And he waited some more.

And then he realized something was wrong.

His ears spun this way and that - he was too high to catch any useful smells. He heard the traffic on the main road, but nothing there to arouse suspicion. Then, from an alley he had leaped over, he heard her whistle. He spun about, rushing towards the sound.

She was in an alleyway. Three Templars had her cornered. One more was dropped and frozen, ice covering his armor and spreading out along the ground. She struck another with a spike of ice that impaled him through his armor and all - his two neighbors had their feet stuck to the ground, but that did not prevent one of them from Silencing her.

Mistress backed against the wall. She cupped her hand before her mouth and blew a whistle again, plaintive and long. She was hoping he could hear her from the mansion - but he was already here. He looked down the two stories at the men below, thinking how best to kill them.

"Tch." One of the men looked in anger and disgust at his dead companions. "Knew you were a Mage. There’s rumors all over town. How you killed your brother in the Deep Roads to keep him from telling. He was looking to join the Order - would have made a fine Templar. By my count now…" He unsheathed his sword slowly. "You’ve got the blood of three of my brothers on your head."

Mistress gripped her staff tightly. She snarled, and on the roof, muscles tensed, he snarled with her. Carver had been a god man, a good pup, and taken by the Darkspawn too soon. It was painful for Mistress. It was painful for him.

The Templar with his sword bared struck at her, and he leaped down to his Mistress’s aid, many pounds of taut Mabari flesh flying two stories to land with force on the other attacker.

The Templar’s helmet cut into his belly, but not severely. The man crumpled with the weight striking down straight on his spine. Two stories was a long way to jump but it wasn’t deadly, not for a Mabari as strong and agile and fierce as he was.

The Templar was still alive, so a snap of his jaws around the man’s throat finished that. He turned, the scent of blood in his nostrils, the battle-rage climbing in his mind. It was Mabari: to start the battle and fight on until all were dead. If he was not such a strong, smart Mabari, even Mistress would be in danger unless she painted herself with Kaddis. But he was the strongest and the smartest of his kind. She would never come to harm from him.

Mistress was bleeding. She clutched her side in pain, blood pooled in her hand. Deadly wounds. He saw red.

He didn’t know exactly what happened next. The blood rage pulsed inside him. Soon he stood over the body of the monster that struck his mistress. There was a long gash on his shoulder, which hurt to move. Blood was everywhere, and the monster - in tatters. He panted loudly. Mistress moaned, and he turned upon her, features instantly flipping from snarling rage to concern. He gave a plaintive whine.

"Heh." She chuckled. She tried to focus the energy from her staff on the wound - with her attackers dead, the Silence had fallen as well. She was not doing well. "Good boy." She said, coughing. "Good boy." She reached a hand out to pet him. "Can you…" She struggled. "Get Anders? Anders, Boy. I need him."

The other mage who smelled of sick and blood and lightning. The man she got flustered around, who spurned her advances for matehood like a fool for the sake of his own cowardice and fear. Fear lived in the man, fear and anger and fire and lightning - and healing.

The fastest way to get to Anders was back through the Amell mansion, and down through the cellar. He knew a way. Leandra would screech about him getting blood on the floor. He didn’t care. With an assenting bark, he ran. If he had to drag Anders back by his fluffy feathered coat, he would.

He was Mabari. Strong, Smart, Fierce, Agile. Loyal. What his Mistress needed…he would be there to do. He would always be there.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my Tumblr: http://doglordbitch.tumblr.com/post/86101466216/pawprints-i-told-him-to-stay-off-the-bed
> 
> Possibly might do a full retelling of Adena's story from Mabari perspective because Brandt is like the Batman of Mabari.


End file.
